Synopses & Reviews
Following his critically acclaimed , renowned essayist Matthew Gavin Frank takes on America's food. In a surprising style reminiscent of Maggie Nelson or Mark Doty, Frank examines a quintessential dish in each state, interweaving the culinary with personal and cultural associations of each region. From key lime pie (Florida) to elk stew (Montana), commemorates the unexpected origins of the familiar. Brazenly dissecting the myriad intersections between history and food, Frank, in this gorgeously designed volume, considers politics, sexuality, violence, grief, and pleasure: the cool, creamy whoopie pie evokes toughness in the face of New England winters, while the stewlike perloo serves up an exploration of food and race in the South. Tracing an unpredictable map of our collective appetites, The Mad Feast presents a beguiling flavor profile of the American spirit.
Review
"Matthew Gavin Frank's is like a baby who wants to learn the world by putting everything in its mouth. If eating means bringing everything we're not into our bodies, then this book--rich, exuberant, unexpected--explores how we're contained within everything we bring into ourselves. It's messy and playful; it pushes association to the brink of absurdity and then sits at that border, munching on a slice of cake or spooning some chowder. Every chapter reads less like reportage and more like incantation, assembling from local materials the particular ingredients necessary to cast a singular spell." Andrew Lawler, author of Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?
Review
"This crazy culinary cruise through America is as messy and wonderful as Iowa's Loosemeat Sandwich. ...This is no cookbook with practical recipes or a patronizing tour of backwoods eateries, but a meditation on our nations strange history that stares up at us from the plate, as tart as a Key lime and dense as Mississippi Mud Pie." The Paris Review Daily
Review
"[A] raucous gastro-crawl through regional American cuisine." Jeffery Gleaves
Review
"[Frank]'s produced a surprising, entertaining look at what Americans eat and why." Leslie Jamison, author of The Empathy Exams
Synopsis
A richly illustrated culinary tour of the United States through fifty signature dishes, and a radical exploration of our gastronomic heritage.
About the Author
Matthew Gavin Frank has previously written about everything from wine-making in a tent in Italy to the social hierarchies of a pot farm in California. He teaches creative writing and lives in Marquette, Michigan.